1946–47 Toronto Huskies season

March 2026 August 2023 Toronto Huskies BAA 1947 22 38 6 Eastern Ed Sadowski (3–9)Lew Hayman (0–1)Dick Fitzgerald (2–1)Red Rolfe (17–27) Maple Leaf Gardens CFRB Did not qualify 1 1 The 1946–47 BAA season was the Toronto Huskies' sole season of existence. The Huskies played in the Basketball Association of America, the forerunner to the National Basketball Association (NBA),NBA.com History of Basketball in Canada and hosted what is now considered the NBA's first game at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on November 1, 1946, losing to the New York Knickerbockers 68–66. They would also be the only Canadian team to enter this newly-created professional basketball league that was created in part by most of the Original Six owners of the National Hockey League (NHL) due to Montreal declining to have a team enter into this new league when Toronto decided to join in alongside the rest of the NHL's team owners and owners from the American Hockey League (AHL) at the time. The Huskies finished last in their division and folded after one season. Throughout the season, the Huskies had four head coaches: player-coach Ed Sadowski with 3 wins and 9 losses, interim Lew Hayman at 0–1, interim Dick Fitzgerald at 2–1, and player-coach Red Rolfe at 17–27. After the BAA's inaugural season concluded, the Huskies were initially undecided on their long-term plans due to a combination of the team's poor record and the status of the Maple Leaf Gardens being more focused at that time on its namesake tenants, the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League.Koppett Leonard Total Basketball: The Ultimate Basketball Encyclopedia 2003 SPORT Media Publishing, Inc. 1-894963-01-6, p. 32 While they participated in the 1947 BAA draft, the Huskies ultimately joined the Pittsburgh Ironmen, Detroit Falcons, and Cleveland Rebels as the four inaugural BAA teams (as well as the only Eastern Division team) to exit the league before the following season. Toronto later gained an NBA team for the 1995–96 NBA season with the debut of the Toronto Raptors. Roster Due to this being the first and only season in the franchise's history, the BAA didn't utilize a draft system like they would in future seasons of the BAA/NBA and instead relied upon the head coach and general manager of the team finding and signing players.Rosen Charley The First Tip-Off: The Incredible Story of the Birth of the NBA 2008 McGraw Hill 9780071487856, p. 40 For the Huskies, business director Lew Hayman was happy to take on the bidding of player-coach Ed Sadowski from Seton Hall College (who would already take on one of the open player spots for the team by default for the start of the season).Rosen Charley The First Tip-Off: The Incredible Story of the Birth of the NBA 2008 McGraw Hill 9780071487856, p. 118 As a result of that, Sadowski would pick up fellow Seton Hall alumni Mike McCarron and Bob Fitzgerald as well as his brother Dick Fitzgerald from Fordham University, Charlie Hoefer from Queens College, George Nostrand from the University of Wyoming, Harry Miller from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Frank Fucarino from Long Island University, Ray Wertis from St. John's University, Roy Hurley from Arsenal Technical High School and Murray State University, and a couple of Canadian players to satisfy the local fans for the opening roster to start the season.Rosen Charley The First Tip-Off: The Incredible Story of the Birth of the NBA 2008 McGraw Hill 9780071487856, pp. 118–119 Six Canadians players were brought in to tryout for the roster (with the names of most of those players in question being lost to time), with only two players actually making the team to start the season; those players were Gino Sovran and Hank Biasatti, who had both attended Assumpion College of the University of Western Ontario (with Biasatti being an Italian-Canadian and Sovran also attending the University of Detroit as well), though Sadowski boldly stated that neither Sovran nor Biasatti would actually play for the Huskies at the time with regards to his American players at hand.Rosen Charley The First Tip-Off: The Incredible Story of the Birth of the NBA 2008 McGraw Hill 9780071487856, p. 119 Toronto Huskies 1946–47 10 Dick Fitzgerald basketball F 6 2 175 Fordham 1920-11-18 12 Frank Fucarino F 6 2 175 LIU Brooklyn 1920-07-24 16 Kleggie Hermsen C/F 6 9 225 Minnesota 1923-03-12 21 Roy Hurley F/G 6 2 170 Murray State 1922-08-12 19 Ed Kasid G 5 11 185 Minneapolis Vocational HS (MN) 1923-08-13 14 Mike McCarron G 5 11 180 Seton Hall 1922-03-02 16 Nat Militzok F 6 3 195 Cornell 1923-05-03 15 Harry Miller basketball, born 1923 C/F 6 4 230 North Carolina 1923-07-28 22 Leo Mogus F/C 6 4 190 Youngstown State 1921-04-13 11 Bob Mullens G 6 1 175 Fordham 1922-11-01 18 Dick Schulz F/G 6 2 192 Wisconsin 1917-01-03 20 Ralph Siewert C 7 1 230 Dakota Wesleyan 1923-12-31 23 Red Wallace G 6 1 185 Scranton 1918-07-12 Red Rolfe https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/TRH/1947.html Season standings TRH Regular season The attendance for the inaugural match was 7,090 with ticket prices ranging from 75 cents to two dollars and fifty cents. On that night, anyone taller than George Nostrand, the tallest Husky at 6'8", was given free admission.Prince George Citizen - Canada's Sovran remembers a different pro basketball league than today's NBAFebruary 2019 InternetArchiveBot yes Attendance quickly dwindled and the Toronto Star published an estimate that team owners Eric Cradock (co-owner of the Montreal Alouettes football team) and Harold Shannon lost $100,000 in one season of operations. The managing director of the Huskies was Lew Hayman, who was also the coach and general manager of the Alouettes. Previously, he had been a star basketball player at Syracuse University. Other key figures included team president Charles Watson, co-founders Ben Newman and Salter Hayden, and Annis Stukus. Game log # Date Visitor Score Home High points Record 1 November 1, 1946 New York Knickerbockers 68–66 Toronto Huskies Ed Sadowski (18) 0–1 2 November 3, 1946 Toronto Huskies 60–71 Cleveland Rebels George Nostrand (17) 0–2 3 November 8, 1946 Detroit Falcons 71–73 Toronto Huskies Fitzgerald, Sadowski (16) 1–2 4 November 9, 1946 Toronto Huskies 54–64 Chicago Stags Ed Sadowski (15) 1–3 5 November 15, 1946 Providence Steamrollers 68–85 Toronto Huskies Ed Sadowski (30) 2–3 6 November 16, 1946 Toronto Huskies 49–53 Boston Celtics Ed Sadowski (14) 2–4 7 November 18, 1946 Toronto Huskies 48–54 Pittsburgh Ironmen Ed Sadowski (21) 2–5 8 November 19, 1946 Cleveland Rebels 74–72 Toronto Huskies Ed Sadowski (25) 2–6 9 November 22, 1946 Boston Celtics 82–83 Toronto Huskies Dick Fitzgerald (15) 3–6 10 November 23, 1946 Toronto Huskies 50–74 Washington Capitols Mike McCarron (14) 3–7 11 November 26, 1946 Washington Capitols 78–68 Toronto Huskies Ed Sadowski (23) 3–8 12 November 29, 1946 Cleveland Rebels 87–72 Toronto Huskies Ed Sadowski (20) 3–9 13 November 30, 1946 Toronto Huskies 65–79 Providence Steamrollers Mike McCarron (20) 3–10 14 December 5, 1946 Toronto Huskies 65–61 Chicago Stags Charlie Hoefer (14) 4–10 15 December 7, 1946 Toronto Huskies 68–59 Providence Steamrollers Ray Wertis (13) 5–10 16 December 10, 1946 Philadelphia Warriors 85–73 Toronto Huskies Mike McCarron (24) 5–11 17 December 13, 1946 Pittsburgh Ironmen 62–52 Toronto Huskies Mike McCarron (13) 5–12 18 December 15, 1946 Toronto Huskies 50–46 St. Louis Bombers Mike McCarron (14) 6–12 19 December 17, 1946 Toronto Huskies 62–78 Cleveland Rebels Kleggie Hermsen (13) 6–13 20 December 20, 1946 New York Knickerbockers 70–74 Toronto Huskies Kleggie Hermsen (24) 7–13 21 December 27, 1946 Chicago Stags 88–80 Toronto Huskies Leo Mogus (21) 7–14 22 December 29, 1946 Toronto Huskies 52–48 Detroit Falcons Mike McCarron (13) 8–14 23 December 31, 1946 Chicago Stags 76–87 Toronto Huskies Kleggie Hermsen (20) 9–14 24 January 3, 1947 Boston Celtics 58–53 Toronto Huskies Leo Mogus (15) 9–15 25 January 6, 1947 Detroit Falcons 61–76 Toronto Huskies Kleggie Hermsen (23) 10–15 26 January 8, 1947 Toronto Huskies 76–63 New York Knickerbockers Dick Schulz (20) 11–15 27 January 9, 1947 Toronto Huskies 55–74 Philadelphia Warriors Kleggie Hermsen (11) 11–16 28 January 11, 1947 Toronto Huskies 66–81 Washington Capitols Hurley, Nostrand (16) 11–17 29 January 14, 1947 Philadelphia Warriors 104–74 Toronto Huskies Leo Mogus (13) 11–18 30 January 17, 1947 Detroit Falcons 74–64 Toronto Huskies Kleggie Hermsen (14) 11–19 31 January 21, 1947 St. Louis Bombers 71–72 Toronto Huskies Leo Mogus (26) 12–19 32 January 24, 1947 Providence Steamrollers 96–93 Toronto Huskies Red Wallace (23) 12–20 33 January 27, 1947 Cleveland Rebels 88–82 Toronto Huskies Red Wallace (16) 12–21 34 January 28, 1947 Toronto Huskies 70–80 Cleveland Rebels Red Wallace (20) 12–22 35 January 31, 1947 Washington Capitols 74–83 Toronto Huskies Red Wallace (38) 13–22 36 February 2, 1947 Toronto Huskies 75–90 Chicago Stags Mike McCarron (27) 13–23 37 February 5, 1947 Toronto Huskies 58–55 Pittsburgh Ironmen Red Wallace (16) 14–23 38 February 6, 1947 Toronto Huskies 61–79 Philadelphia Warriors Leo Mogus (16) 14–24 39 February 8, 1947 Toronto Huskies 46–69 New York Knickerbockers Leo Mogus (13) 14–25 40 February 14, 1947 Pittsburgh Ironmen 73–84 Toronto Huskies Leo Mogus (27) 15–25 41 February 16, 1947 Toronto Huskies 64–80 St. Louis Bombers Leo Mogus (16) 15–26 42 February 18, 1947 St. Louis Bombers 57–65 Toronto Huskies Red Wallace (16) 16–26 43 February 19, 1947 Toronto Huskies 59–69 Washington Capitols Mike McCarron (13) 16–27 44 February 21, 1947 Boston Celtics 61–67 Toronto Huskies Leo Mogus (21) 17–27 45 February 23, 1947 Toronto Huskies 52–61 Detroit Falcons Red Wallace (15) 17–28 46 February 25, 1947 Providence Steamrollers 60–83 Toronto Huskies Nat Militzok (16) 18–28 47 February 28, 1947 Philadelphia Warriors 69–77 Toronto Huskies Mike McCarron (20) 19–28 48 March 1, 1947 Toronto Huskies 48–63 New York Knickerbockers Leo Mogus (12) 19–29 49 March 3, 1947 Toronto Huskies 66–76 Philadelphia Warriors Red Wallace (21) 19–30 50 March 5, 1947 Toronto Huskies 63–60 Pittsburgh Ironmen Leo Mogus (22) 20–30 51 March 7, 1947 Washington Capitols 86–70 Toronto Huskies Leo Mogus (18) 20–31 52 March 8, 1947 Toronto Huskies 65–67 Boston Celtics Leo Mogus (22) 20–32 53 March 11, 1947 St. Louis Bombers 71–79 Toronto Huskies Leo Mogus (21) 21–32 54 March 12, 1947 Toronto Huskies 57–69 Boston Celtics Leo Mogus (21) 21–33 55 March 13, 1947 Toronto Huskies 64–71 Providence Steamrollers Nat Militzok (16) 21–34 56 March 18, 1947 Pittsburgh Ironmen 70–64 Toronto Huskies Nat Militzok (14) 21–35 57 March 21, 1947 Chicago Stags 99–83 Toronto Huskies Mike McCarron (29) 21–36 58 March 23, 1947 Toronto Huskies 40–60 St. Louis Bombers Mike McCarron (14) 21–37 59 March 28, 1947 New York Knickerbockers 61–71 Toronto Huskies Mike McCarron (22) 22–37 60 March 29, 1947 Toronto Huskies 63–66 Detroit Falcons Mike McCarron (18) 22–38 1946–47 Toronto Huskies Games – Basketball-Reference.com Player stats Note: GP= Games played; FG= Field Goals; FT= Free Throws; FTA = Free Throws Attempted; AST = Assists; PTS = Points Player GP FG FT FTA AST PTS Mike McCarron 60 236 177 288 59 649 Leo Mogus 41 186 172 237 56 544 Red Wallace 37 170 85 148 38 425 Dick Fitzgerald 60 118 41 60 40 277 Kleggie Hermsen 21 95 64 97 15 254 Dick Schulz 41 87 74 107 39 248 Roy Hurley 46 100 39 64 34 239 Bob Mullens 28 98 42 68 36 238 Ed Sadowski 10 73 45 66 8 191 Harry Miller 53 58 36 82 42 152 Charlie Hoefer 23 54 32 46 9 140 Frank Fucarino 28 53 34 60 7 140 Bob Fitzgerald 31 47 45 70 26 139 George Nostrand 13 46 24 61 10 116 Nat Militzok 21 38 24 39 14 100 Ray Wertis 18 38 23 37 18 99 Ralph Siewert 14 5 6 10 4 16 Ed Kasid 8 6 0 6 6 12 Gino Sovran 6 5 1 2 1 11 Hank Biasatti 6 2 2 4 0 6https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/TRH/1947.html 1946-47 Toronto Huskies Roster and Stats Playoffs The Huskies did not qualify for the postseason in their only season of play. Transactions List of 1946–47 BAA season transactions Trades December 4, 1946 To Toronto HuskiesKleggie Hermsen"1946-47 Toronto Huskies Transactions". Basketball Reference. Retrieved July 4, 2017. To Cleveland RebelsGeorge Nostrand December 16, 1946 To Toronto HuskiesLeo Mogus Dick Schulz Cash To Cleveland RebelsEd Sadowski Ray Wertis January 2, 1947 To Toronto HuskiesRed Wallace To Boston CelticsCharlie Hoefer January 21, 1947 To Toronto HuskiesBob Mullens To New York KnicksBob Fitzgerald Purchases PlayerDate boughtPrevious teamNat Militzok"Nat Militzok Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved July 4, 2017.February 5, 1947New York Knicks Season losses Throughout the season, the Toronto Huskies had an average total of only 2,103 paid attendees per game, with net receipts totaling $43,590 American dollars and estimated losses totaling around $215,000 American dollars for this season (which was the highest amount of (American) dollars lost by a BAA team this season).Rosen Charley The First Tip-Off: The Incredible Story of the Birth of the NBA 2008 McGraw Hill 9780071487856, p. 128 Due to the uncertain future of the BAA with a large number of teams with lost revenue, the lower average Canadian salary allowing the average citizen to afford a family to attend professional basketball matches (the average annual salary in Toronto from November 1946 was $33.47 in Canadian dollars, with ticket prices ranging from seventy-five cents to $2.50, with a family cost for parking and a soft drink totaling around $5 Canadian, which would be a high percentage for that period of time), and the status of the Maple Leaf Gardens being more focused at that time on its namesake tenants, the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL), the Huskies were one of two teams, along with the Chicago Stags, which were undecided on whether they would play another season or not.http://www.apbr.org/baaminutes.html BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA LEAGUE MINUTES 1946-1949 Bradley Robert APBR October 10, 2025 While the Stags ultimately continued to play in the BAA/NBA until 1950 when they ceased operations, the Huskies decided to fold alongside the Pittsburgh Ironmen following their entries in the inaugural 1947 BAA draft, with Toronto finding it not economically worthwhile to continue operating the franchise. Greater details on their first and only season would be explored in Charley Rosen's book called "The First Tip-Off: The Incredible Story of the Birth of the NBA", with an entire chapter dedicated to the Huskies' woes and troubles in their only season of play within the BAA that ultimately lead them to their quick downfall following their only season, including how Ed Sadowski (alongside the Canadian economy of the time) helped lead the team to their demise early on due to the coaching part of the player-coach side being something he was woefully inexperienced with.Rosen Charley The First Tip-Off: The Incredible Story of the Birth of the NBA 2008 McGraw Hill 9780071487856, pp. 117–128 Dispersal draft During the first end of season meeting for the Basketball Association of America's board of governors on May 21, 1947, the Huskies joined the Chicago Stags as one of two teams who were unsure on whether or not they would continue to play for another season. Despite this uncertainty, both the Huskies and Stags participated in the inaugural 1947 BAA draft. The Huskies selected Glen Selbo from the University of Wisconsin, Red Rocha from Oregon State University, Frank Broyles from the Georgia School of Technology (now Georgia Tech), Wimpy Quinn from the University of Oregon, and Paul Hoffman from Purdue University. During the same draft, former Huskies player Hank Biasatti (from Assumption College in Windsor, Ontario) was drafted by the Boston Celtics in the second round, although he never played professional basketball again, instead opting to play baseball professionally. While the Stags ultimately decided to continue for another season, later playing up until 1950, the Huskies and Pittsburgh Ironmen folded operations entirely on July 27, 1947.Bradley Robert D. The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts 2013 Scarecrow Press 9780810890695, pg. 422 The remaining eight teams (the surviving seven teams plus the original Baltimore Bullets franchise that came from the original American Basketball League) entered into a dispersal draft on August 2 that year, with each team taking players from the previously disbanded Cleveland Rebels and Detroit Falcons franchises alongside the Huskies and Ironmen. The following teams acquired these players from the Ironmen during the dispersal draft period: Baltimore Bullets: Leo Mogus & Dick Schulz Boston Celtics: Harry Miller New York Knicks: Mike McCarron Providence Steamrollers: Dick Fitzgerald Washington Capitols: Roy Hurley, Bob Mullens, & Red Wallace References External links 1946-47 Huskies Season on Database Basketball 1946-47 Huskies Season on Basketball Reference Category:Toronto Huskies seasons Toronto Toronto Huskies Toronto Huskies Toronto Huskies